Monday, January 07, 2013

I meant to do this, and then I was on the Tripple Eggs podcast for the same purpose (in which I discuss some of these same ideas in longer form), and even contributed a smidge to Upodcast's year-end episode, so then it felt redundant. But now everyone seems to be writing things down, and I feel left out. So. Here you go.

(Apologies to Get Filmy and everyone else who did the "long, specific, and funny category names" thing already. It's too fun to resist.)Depiction of the Blight on Hindi Film Characters of 2012, aka Traffic SafetyShanghai, Cocktail, Heroine, Talaash, and, I am told, Jab Tak Hai Jaan

Women Doing Stuff
SO MANY WINNERS THIS YEAR, both fictional and real! Female heroes. Directors. Music directors. Writers. Festival films. Mainstream films. Younger. Older. HURRAH!The Unpopular Movie That Does Have a Few Supporters but We're Not Terribly Vocal about It, and I, for One, Do Not Need You to Love It like I DoAgent Vinod

The Unpopular Movie That Has an Increasing Number of Supporters and We're Terribly Vocal about ItAiyyaa

Possibly Worth It for the Significant, Unconventional EndingEk Main aur Ek Tu

Will You Please Just Stop Now/Lotus Rising from the Muck
Madhur Bhandarkar/Kareena Kapoor in Heroine

Proper Grown-Up Role by a Proper Grown-Up Actor
Sridevi in English Vinglish
(Side note: I haven't seen Shirin Farhad Ki Toh Nikal Padi. Is it a contender?)Surprisingly Shakespearean Inhabitation of a Villain
Rishi Kapoor in Agneepath

Brilliantly Understated Inhabitation of a Villain
Farooq Shaikh in Shanghai
Runner-Up: Adil Hussain in English VinglishOn-Screen Story, and It Just Happens to Be TrueSupermen of MalegaonComeback Jodi
Deepti Naval and Farooq Shaikh, in person (Listen Amaya, which premiered at the 2012 Chicago South Asian Film Festival in September, and releases very soon!) and invoked as the epitome of non-filmi, soft, quiet, more subtle romance (Aiyyaa)Overall Soundtrack and Music Director ZindabadGangs of Wasseypur I and Sneha Khanwalkar

Hip-Flicking Earworm"Pyaar Ki Pungi" from Agent VinodCharacter-Singer Harmoniousness (aka Keepin' It Real) Earworm"Voh Dekhnay Mein" from London Paris New YorkEarworm That Perfectly Suits and Captures the Film It's In"Ami Shotti Bolchi" from Kahaani. It's chaotic and bipolar, Usha Utthup with hoarse metal. Read the translated lyrics if you haven't (here's one option; the internet seems to love to say that English can never express thoughts first formed in Bengali, but whatever, I gotta start somewhere). That song, er, tells the truth.

And Speaking of That, Calcutta, You Sexy; or, the Year Beth Finally Found Another World of Indian Cinema That Grabs Her Even 10% as Much as HindiBengali Cinema of the late 1950s through mid-1970s

My Favorite Films of 2012
5. Agent Vinod
One of a few films this year that kicked up a fuss in one direction or the other with a vehemence I really do not understand, this was the most fun I had at the cinema all year, and that includes seeing two movies in Bombay. Duplicitousness is Saif Ali Khan's sweet spot (a trait I explored in a WSJ column here) and I loved seeing him employ it for the motherland. While acting his age. And wearing an impeccably tailored wardrobe. Too bad the ending(s) wasn't (weren't) similarly carefully trimmed.
4. Vicky Donor
I don't require every movie to be realistic (obviously), but smaller-scale—yet still well-developed and complex—characters are a refreshing change of pace, especially when portrayed so charmingly. The ethnography of regional cultures and the wedding (which for all I know are insultingly shallow and facile, but they don't scream as such) are unexpected additional pleasures.
3. Shanghai
At first I thought "Huh? This isn't the Dibakar Banerjee I know and love!" but then I realized it is, just employed in very different ways. The epic profile of this filmmaker by Jai Arjun Singh in The Caravanis just as masterful.
2. Kahaani
Through the shenanigans of various circumstances, I saw this three times in the cinema within about six weeks, and with each viewing it got stronger (except for one plot hole that presented itself to me almost immediately in my first viewing, which was even unsubtitled, so it's not like the problem is hard to spot), and different performances, visual details, and layers of the story came to the fore at different times. This film is not only very rewatchable but it morphs with each viewing—and how perfect is that in a film in which characters routinely state and experience that the world they inhabit is not what it seems.
1. Aiyyaa
The more I think about it, which is a lot, the more I'm calling it full-on revolutionary, in addition to fun, hilarious, clever, loving, and feminist.Watch this space, and several other blogs, for a podcast in the near future.

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comments:

I can't WAIT to see 'Aiyyaa' (though it didn't come to theaters here, so I'll have to take my chances with a $2 bootleg from my local Indian grocer). Also happy to hear I'm not the only one who liked Agent Vinod. Yeah, the ending was a let down, but not enough of one to dismiss the whole movie! 'Kahaani' was my favorite of the year - though I was a real slacker in '12 and missed out on a lot of movies.

Laura - Oooh I think you will really like it. Can't wait to hear what you think! I really don't get the AV blowback. I've seen it three times now and still enjoy it.

GF - Thanks to Anishok's photo recap posts on JTHJ, I have now at least seen a still of The Moment. It sounds HILARIOUS. I have promised Amrita we will watch JTHJ together in India surrounded by lots of booze.

Team Aiyyaa all the way! Glad to hear you find Kahaani so rewatchable. Because of the twist I felt like I'd only ever watch it once, but now I may be convinced to give it another go .. and perhaps even show it to some friends to see them stunned at the ending.

Ani - Your JTHJ recaps are surely better than the movie could be. And yes please watch Aiyyaa so we can hear what you think of it!

veracious - I tried the first 5 minutes of JTHJ and almost died laughing at it, which I am pretty sure was not the intended reaction. I'll see the whole thing soon but...it will require some reward system.

Re: Kahaani, I actually feel the twist gets weaker with each rematch (partly because I think its setup is weak to start with, per the aforementioned plot problem that has always bugged me, which I won't name here just in case people haven't seen the film and don't want a spoiler) but everything else about it just seemed better and better. My appreciation grows, you know? Get Filmy said somewhere, I think on the podcast I did with her on Tripple Eggs, that it's a film about storyTELLING, and that is something you can enjoy over and over.

Re: Kahaani: The twist was so obvious to me from the moment at the taxi (a side effect of watching too many films of the same type) but didn't take away anything from the film. A story well told and cinematography of the type I like not to mention a powerhouse lead performance with not even a small weak link in the cast (a rare occurance).

my other filmi projects

Bong Along - a blog on vintage Bengali movies co-written by Indie Quill and me (and perhaps a few very friendly appearances by other friends as well).

Masala Zindabad - the podcast by Indie Quill and me, often featuring other writers and fans as guests. Masala Zindabad is an affectionate and thoughtful look at the broad range of themes that define Bollywood and make Bollywood defy definition. Available at iTunes.

Mysterious Order of the Skeleton Suit - the Agents of M.O.S.S. are a shadowy confederation of like-minded writers, broadcasters, creators, and jetsetters who have banded together in a bold mission to bring international intrigue and pop entertainment to the masses. Can anyone stand in the way of their diabolical schemes?

pragmatics

Text (c) 2005–2014, Beth Watkins. The ideas and opinions expressed in this site are mine alone unless otherwise attributed. They do not necessarily represent the views of my employer or of any other organization or website with which I may be associated.